After only four days of calling witnesses, less than half the time used by the prosecution, the defense has rested in the George Zimmerman murder trial. In a sign that they are quite confident of their case the defense rested without ever calling Zimmerman to the stand, according to the Orlando Sentinel.
Much of the testimony on Wednesday involved attorneys for both sides attempting to recreate the altercation between Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin with a mannequin. While Dennis Root, a law enforcement trainer, was on the stand prosecutor John Guy used the mannequin to attempt to demonstrate that Martin could have been shot while backing off of Zimmerman. Guy also tried to show that it would have been difficult for Zimmerman to draw his gun if he was being straddled by Martin as the defense claims, according to ABC News.
Root also testified that Martin would have been easily capable of inflicting the wounds Zimmerman suffered because he was far more physically fit.
"What information were you able to glean concerning Mr. Zimmerman's physical prowess?" Mark O'Mara, one of Zimmerman's defense attorneys, asked Root.
"Without sounding offensive, he really didn't have any," Root said.
Once the defense rested its case state prosecutors asked Judge Debra Nelson that the jury be asked to consider lesser charges - manslaughter and aggravated assault - in addition to the second-degree murder charges. The request was objected to by the defense and Judge Nelson is expected to rule on it first thing Thursday morning, according to USA Today.
Legal experts see this move by the state to be a sign that they understand that they are very unlikely to get a conviction on charges of second-degree murder.
"They aren't going to go all or nothing," Jose Baez, a Florida criminal defense attorney, told USA Today. "They aren't blind to the fact that they haven't proven second-degree murder."
O'Mara believes that the defense has proven that Zimmerman did nothing wrong, regardless of what he is charged with.
"Self-defense is self-defense," O'Mara said. "What happened out there was not a crime."
Judge Nelson laid out a schedule for the end of the case that will have the case in the jury's hands by Friday afternoon. The state will have two hours for a closing argument on Thursday at 1 p.m. The defense's closing argument will be on Friday morning and is scheduled for three hours, the state will then have one hour to rebut, according to the Orlando Sentinel.
To watch a live stream of the closing arguments click here.
